[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6176309,"mediaKeyId","5349133-7dcc711c24b99a902dbf61c030adff1b","parentId",5349133,"title","Monongalia County Commission appoints four new members to Planning Commission, reappoints incumbents","audioSeconds",84,"startMs",3214000,"endMs",3298000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5349133-7dcc711c24b99a902dbf61c030adff1b&start=3214&end=3298","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5349133-7dcc711c24b99a902dbf61c030adff1b/thumbnail_3214000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6176309/Monongalia-County/West-Virginia/Monongalia-County-Commission-appoints-four-new-members-to-Planning-Commission-reappoints-incumbents","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6176309-61cb7c87c45c80a6eae62d209e3c5fc6/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442877&Signature=Bk56RYCtGRMF2TCh03kP3SCn3-z6Ni9oEpdvY5eWyol4omSOP4OpmueJsuLCRFFSMEdUwYqxJA~0Pc7qTzCfMY1R~sMilJP54IS6NyFlHDKO4wRebeqFtlnuNIa4BlHmQmsNaoofFzCthBmi99YDZvuTJEJ8dfKozoa3P8qypRT9rILBlftQulEu4fgsELP0CmQaC5P6dM1G1HKXdIHzbwfQ02BDGlBdPdvUjSti8uymiTMCXmx0Vn6YBa3vSJCsWrTS2opf6lAPQqyw4HtGCL12FUypctqYBy2TztOjjGPC5fGUYRD3-XEKBCXun~wjbjvisQl~n9hOAeR~P6nnKg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Monongalia County, WV","date","2025-07-10T09:07:54.933Z","article","The Monongalia County Commission on July 9 appointed four residents to the Monongalia County Planning Commission and reappointed several incumbents whose terms had expired.

The commission appointed Darren Glitz, Mark Bowers, Parker Grimes and Mary Ann Folz to the Planning Commission and reappointed Commissioner Arnett (as the commission’s representative), Joe Panico, Vince Putakowski and Matthew Ridgeway, among others. Commissioners announced they had received a number of applications and selected candidates after review.

During the meeting the commission also approved routine personnel actions presented by department heads: new hires in the assessor’s office and the sheriff’s department were approved with effective start dates of July 16; the commission approved the retirement of Dana Johnson, director of the canine adoption center, effective July 30; and the sheriff’s request to award a service weapon to Captain Randy Spangler upon his retirement effective July 31 was approved.

The commission approved several grant applications and reimbursement requests in a single motion, including a VOCA grant application for fiscal year 2026 and reimbursements for Community Development Block Grant, SAKI and VOCA funds. The commission also approved an application for $90,000 in project infrastructure funding from the Monongalia County Development Authority’s coal bed methane fund for a Mountain State Development Group LLC project.

The county development authority’s staff summarized that the $90,000 award supports infrastructure at the intersection of Bowers Lane and Fairchance Road and that the applicant, Thomas Brown, told the commission the work is intended to ready the site for potential retail development. Brown disputed circulating rumors that a transfer station was planned on the site and said the project is focused on retail‑oriented infrastructure.

All appointments and routine personnel and grant matters were approved by voice vote during the meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Monongalia County Commission meeting July 9, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","On July 9 the Monongalia County Commission appointed Darren Glitz, Mark Bowers, Parker Grimes and Mary Ann Folz to the county Planning Commission and reappointed several incumbent members; the commission also processed routine personnel approvals and grant reimbursement requests.","taxTitle","Monongalia County, West Virginia","taxId",2632,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6176313,"Residents press county on rate, tax and jobs questions for Marla Power Line; NextEra presentation expected",3634,356000,3990000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5349133-7dcc711c24b99a902dbf61c030adff1b&start=356&end=3990","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5349133-7dcc711c24b99a902dbf61c030adff1b/thumbnail_356000.jpg","/articles/6176313/Monongalia-County/West-Virginia/Residents-press-county-on-rate-tax-and-jobs-questions-for-Marla-Power-Line-NextEra-presentation-expected","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6176313-127e40a3aadb88fb95c9a04a259c748a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442877&Signature=Y9annZhUfhXa7L0rGKayqCRlnC66vAQLfNxpg~AXgnMOmHTrSIIAdFmxR5K5KmfUknRFAcA9CNVa1Oaf2DQru6K3Y3WQ-~bqV7NEMXm4aC3s7may1ECKlWiTQClab87I09h0RxHuYxu4FqAgCAPWAu6Tz0cTns4MoE9mQbIG89HlrHdl81MLE8LbRszy63rBaWoBSd4fRtVHK2zYeDR-szR3k6jb3vnxRbOisd~u-wCnJrK548iBje2re4Se~-iCxY1sQZBGfve98YFOLAnugSY9ls1NlThsQfW0-qs-BimOuuznrtVASPzYIdPc~s-1JUfbNkox~M97dUb5oTk1ww__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Residents used the Monongalia County Commission’s public‑comment period on July 9 to press elected officials about a proposed high‑capacity transmission line referred to in the meeting as the Marla Power Line and an upcoming NextEra presentation.

“After going through that and reading through that, I I know that our rates are going to go up, and I don't really see any really benefit for the people of this county,” said Linda Campbell of Stuartstown, who told commissioners she had attended informational meetings and was concerned about ratepayer impacts, tax revenue estimates and the number of permanent West Virginia jobs the developer would commit to on the record.

Campbell said she had seen figures of “50 to a 100,000,000” in tax revenue over the lifetime of the project and asked where the money would come from. She also asked whether NextEra — which residents mentioned by name in the meeting — would guarantee permanent West Virginia jobs rather than relying on out‑of‑state specialists during construction.

Barbara Evans Fleischer, a former state delegate attending the meeting, urged commissioners to press the developer on a report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis that questions whether West Virginia ratepayers would shoulder much of the infrastructure build‑out cost. “This report says that… West Virginia taxpayers are gonna be footing the bill for that infrastructure build out without getting much, if any, benefit,” she said.

County officials and staff did not provide answers from the dais during public comment. Commissioners follow a practice of not responding during that portion of the meeting; county leadership later said staff have requested a separate public session with the developer so officials can ask a list of the same questions raised by residents and seek technical responses.

The transcript shows county officials expect a formal presentation from NextEra later in the meeting schedule or at a future session; residents and commissioners said they plan to use that presentation to press for clarity on rate impacts, tax revenue estimates and the local hiring plan. No regulatory findings, commitments from developers or formal county actions on the transmission project were recorded at the July 9 meeting.","During the July 9 public‑comment period, Monongalia County residents raised concerns about potential rate increases, tax revenue and local job commitments tied to the proposed Marla Power Line and a NextEra project. County officials said developers will be asked to answer those questions at a later public session.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6176319,"Monongalia County, state and developer approve $135 million collaboration to rebuild Exit 155 interchange",2086,998000,3084000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5349133-7dcc711c24b99a902dbf61c030adff1b&start=998&end=3084","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5349133-7dcc711c24b99a902dbf61c030adff1b/thumbnail_998000.jpg","/articles/6176319/Monongalia-County/West-Virginia/Monongalia-County-state-and-developer-approve-135-million-collaboration-to-rebuild-Exit-155-interchange","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6176319-6d00930d78651cd1ddee8d1774660799/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442877&Signature=VsVt72ikfYTu03m3lWhpQwaFZP~8sHFe2~5VNOTXvRMv2i7Tq0CW6v-3BIOsr42ek2uJGWIaZ4IUxIlt3y2PuPFfAdCSJixGLsKgoKjmLVGVQ1xSVeq-Kbg~LfAL6kVEAv5IuL1z0niA847tJSopaFIjC1zKLeBL-3Hdpzk1UQiykMv2Bfgq1C-Nm4ETQn9KW3x3TuD92Le-biSFJbQ0HnbTdEgVlGjoPWr1WaLQGmBfyoZTLzvqxh1Aj0XGmtUb4v5rmttuAsohaqCig13bfUykzs4KGK7UVL47WwHxjKvTA86bXnzUy-2dC4-GKOjQQvc5DWyaVhq2R03E3kipPQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Monongalia County commissioners voted July 9 to approve a three‑party collaboration agreement with the West Virginia Department of Highways and Westridge Inc. to advance reconstruction of the Exit 155 interchange on I‑79.

The agreement sets a project budget of about $135 million and combines funding from the West Virginia Department of Highways (about $67.2 million), a U.S. Department of Transportation MEGA grant of about $54.3 million that the county will assign to the state for administration, and local contributions that together equal roughly 10 percent of the budget. The county and developer will continue paying design and permitting costs and will provide a cash local contribution spread over five years beginning in the fiscal year ending June 2028.

Ryan Lynch, a developer at Westridge Inc., said the agreement is “an important milestone” after years of work and described the project as the gateway to Morgantown and the region. He told commissioners the plan calls for replacing two aging bridges that carry I‑79 over Chaplin Hill Road, reconfiguring Exit 155 into a diverging‑diamond interchange, and building a two‑lane westbound flyover to bypass the Route 19/Maud Boulevard/Chaplin Hill Road (Sheetz) intersection.

The project also includes multimodal elements: a shared‑use path that will cross the Mon River Bridge and tie into the Mon River Trail system and regional trail network. Lynch said the revised scope and cost estimates led local and state partners to seek the federal MEGA grant in 2024; the county was the grant recipient and will assign that award to the Department of Highways so the state can administer the federal reporting and contracting requirements.

Secretary Rumbaugh of the West Virginia Department of Highways said the department is “thrilled with this partnership” and that the state is prepared to lead negotiations with the U.S. Department of Transportation on the timing of federal disbursements. County officials said the collaboration agreement calls for a steering committee with representatives of the three parties to monitor design, permitting, construction and public communications.

Commissioners authorized the agreement by voice vote; the motion carried and the county will now coordinate with the Department of Highways to finalize the federal grant agreement and advance advertising for construction. County officials said they will phase work so the public can see progress while the full project continues through design and right‑of‑way work.

The agreement sets a contingency and reallocation approach: if the final project cost is less than $135 million, excess funds will first be reallocated to nearby roadway projects in the Exit 155 vicinity or, if regulation or timing prevents reallocation, returned to the contributing parties according to the agreement terms.

County administrators and project partners said weekly coordination will be required to meet federal timelines and ensure locally incurred pre‑construction costs are credited toward the federal program when eligible. Officials emphasized that construction timing remains contingent on final grant agreement terms, permitting, utility coordination and the state’s construction program schedule.

What happens next: the Department of Highways will lead negotiations with the U.S. Department of Transportation on the MEGA grant implementation and will administer the eventual construction contract. Local officials and Westridge Inc. will continue to fund remaining design and permitting until the state takes the plans to bid.

The commission’s approval does not set construction start dates; project leaders said they expect phased work and that some elements could be visible within a few years, with full completion dependent on permitting, right‑of‑way and construction schedules.","The Monongalia County Commission on July 9 approved a three‑party collaboration with the West Virginia Department of Highways and Westridge Inc. to advance a roughly $135 million reconstruction of the Exit 155 interchange on I‑79, backed by a $54.3 million federal MEGA grant, state funds and local contributions.","actionData","errors"]

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Monongalia County Commission appoints four new members to Planning Commission, reappoints incumbents

Residents press county on rate, tax and jobs questions for Marla Power Line; NextEra presentation expected

Monongalia County, state and developer approve $135 million collaboration to rebuild Exit 155 interchange